Overview of Mental Health in the Digital Age

Abstract

Reviews the book, Mental Health in the Digital Age edited by Elias Aboujaoude & Vladan Starcevic (see record [rid]2015-36749-000[/rid]). The editors of the book under discussion asked chapter author pairs to discuss the research on the downside and upside of Internet usage on mental health and illness, and the issues had identified experientially— anonymous posting, rage, losing it to the point of psychotic utterances, bullying, trolling, and addiction/overuse are certainly well covered here. But their chapter authors also cover the brighter side of things—specifically, psychoeducation, online psychotherapy, and mobile applications that track mood, sleep, energy levels, and symptoms. This book tries to balance the positive and negative aspects of the impact of the Internet on mental health and illness and does a pretty good job at it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)